Little Brother
by Tylia Kat
Summary: Kyuubi's last physical act as he was sucked into the seal was the flick the baby who was to become his container. This flick sent Naruto flying to a new life, and new powers as the little brother of Sabuku no Gaara.
1. Chapter 1

Hem hem. I do not own Naruto. End of story.

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"Goodbye . . . Naruto," Minato gasped and the Kyuubi howled in rage as it was sucked into the seal on the baby's stomach. It's eye settled on the child it was being sealed in and just before he was fully in the seal, he flicked his claw forward and sent the entire straw basket with Naruto in it flying south east, towards the Land of Wind.

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**Sand - River Border**

"And now you owe me ten kunai Uzanori!" Ari says as he leans back from the card table. I watch, amused, as Uzanori curses and hands the specified amount of kunai over before gathering the cards up again and shuffling them before laying them out for another game of Go Fish. I'm about to pick my hand up when an explosion comes from out side.

"Damn," I mutter as I dash outside followed by the other border guards to find the source of the explosion. I draw my sword and inch around a corner to find a smoking trough of glass plowed into a sand dune. I approach it cautiously, signaling to the others to stay back. I peer into the crater and my eyes widen as a piercing wail rings through the air. I signal behind my back for the others to come foreward as I pick up the baby and gentally rock it against my chest.

"Captain?" Ari asks uncertainly. I turn, my eyes flashing and fire a series of orders.

"Uzanori! Search the crater for identification! Ari! Find some soft cloth! And Akane!" my voice softens. "Do you think you could . . . ?"

The woman at the back looks up, her eyes haunted, "Yes, Captain."

She holds her arms out and I place the baby in them. Everyone but Uzanori shushins back to the gate house as Akane prepares to feed the baby. I reach out to put a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?"

"I'll be fine," she manages a smile."This'll probably help too."


	2. Chapter 2

I look out over the wreckage caused by the Kyuubi attack and sigh.

_I'm getting too old for this!_ I think as I pick my way down the pile of rubble towards the brilliant red and gold of Minato and Kushina's hair stood out against the grey stone. I look around for their child but there's no cradle in sight, just a circle of red candles. My eyes widen and I signal for one of my ANBU to come forward.

"Search for the child and bring it to me as soon as possible." my orders snap out, clear and precise. The ANBU nods and backs off before Shushining away. I hope nothing had happened, but something told me that I would not be seeing Naruto for years.

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**Sunagakure - a week later**

"Kazekage-sama! Report about the child found by the rain border," I say to the man in front of me.

"And?" the kazekage replied, shuffling through his paperwork.

"It would seem that he was new born when we first found him, only a couple of hours old. The letter states that his father and mother named him Naruto. Their names, his last name, and any other information were burned and illegible," I reply.

"And where is he now?" the kazekage asked, looking up from a stack of paperwork.

"I left him on the hallway on the bench in the alcove to your right," I reply, waiting for his answer. I'm surprised when he pushes back his chair and gathers his robes up in a purposeful way.

"I wish to see him," he states when I raise an eyebrow at him I nod and hold the door open. I see his eyes widen as he looks at the alcove on the right and I turn to see what had surprized him before stopping with a gasp.

A small red haired child, the container of Shukaku that hadn't slept once since he was born, was curled protectively around the blond baby under a blanket of sand and was in deep sleep.

The kazekage approached them and lowered his hand as if to separate the two and the almost see though layer of sand collected to form a solid barrier in front of his hand as some of the sand lifted from the blanket to replace the collected sand.

I smile at the two infants before turning to the kazekage.

"Kazekage-sama, seeing the situation, I would recommend that you keep these two together as much as possible," I say before turning heel and walking out to find Baki and tell him to find the shinobi who had experience with children.

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**Thank you for the two reviews, I'm so happy that I got some! I'm actually suprised, even more so since I honestly didn't check till I was finnished, so thanks to you two and don't worry, I totally agree, no matter what Garaa will have a bond with Naruto no matter the hardships I put them through.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Five years later**

"Nii-san! I did it!" Naruto yelled as he came running up to Gaara, pulling his teddy behind him.

"You did?" Gaara asked Naruto, who bobbed his head excitedly. "Good job, now let's see!"

"Okay!" Naruto yelled before closing his eyes and before his big brother's approving stare, the sands lifted and slowly formed into a gourd about half their height. His face was still scrunched in concentration as the gourd slowly floated towards Gaara, becoming smaller till it was about half a foot, or a sixth of a meter. Gaara reached out for it and grabbed it when it was close enough.

"See! See! I did it!" yelled Naruto, who'd stopped concentrating as soon as Gaara took the gourd. Gaara smiled at him before looking back down, expecting to find a pile of sand and was surprised to find that the gourd was still there.

"Naruto." He showed him the gourd and asked, "How'd you do this?"

"I made sand stone!" Naruto replied, still dancing around his brother in a victory dance. _Oh._ Oh. It made total sence now. He'd had troubles getting the sand to keep a shape, but this explained how to do that perfectly. It was still sand, but it would keep its shape with no attention. Gaara smiled at Naruto as he fastened the gourd to his belt. Then he tackle hugged him and smiled at his younger brother.

"Thanks so much Naruto! I couldn't figure out how t' do that!" Gaara said as he stepped off his younger brother. Naruto smiled up at him as he pulled him up.

"Hey, Nii-san? Can we do war paint?" Naruto asked hopefully as he dusted himself off.

Gaara smiled at his younger brother, "Sure! Do you want to get the ink?" Naruto's face scrunched up for a moment before he smiled.

"Yeah! Come on!" he raced out of the courtyard and towards the storage room. He grabbed the first ink bottle and pair of brushes he could find and hurried back to Gaara. He didn't notice the label that stated Sealing Ink.

"Nii-san! I got it! Can I go first?" Naruto asked as he skidded to a halt next to Gaara. After getting an approving nod from Gaara, he commanded, " 'Kay then, shirt off! I want to paint your back!"

Gaara took his shirt off and sat down indian style. When Naruto touched the brush to his back, he giggled and shivered slightly from the cool ink on his skin.

"What 'cha doin'," Gaara asked after a while of Naruto painting on his skin.

The sand swirled around them in the empty courtyard, when suddenly Naruto drew back and said,"There! All done!" sounding satisfied. Then he handed a piece of paper to Gaara and said,"Can you do that here?" he asked, pointing to his left wrist.

Gaara looked curiously at the seal before replying,"Yep! It might take a while though."

Naruto just nodded and held his wrist out for Gaara to hold. They're silent for a while, watching as Gaara's quick brush strokes copied the drawing down from the paper. When it was finished, he unconsciously let some chakra flow into the drawing and both boys watched amazed as the seal glowed. Then Naruto tugged Gaara's finger.

"Nii-san, can I try that with your picture too? Please!" Naruto begged. Gaara just smiled at him and turned around. Naruto put his hands on both of Gaara's shoulder blades, right next to Shukaku's seal. The two shared conspiratorial grins, and Gaara put his shirt on as the two boys went to go search for Yashmaru, they wanted to go play on the play structure.

Neither boy was aware of the breakthroughs that Naruto had made in sealing.

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**First off thank you to all those who have reviewed, I'm so glad you liked it and I hope you like what I've got coming. Also, do you think that Naruto should keep the teddy or get a gourd when he gets older? I personally want to keep the teddy, but tell me what you think! - Tylia Kat**


	4. Chapter 4

"Yashmaru-ji-san!" Naruto called as he ran through the Kazekage Mansion. He was headed for the library, one of his uncle's favorite places when he came to visit. Naruto turns right and bursts through the doors to find Yashmaru with his nose buried deep into a scroll on taijutsu.

"Ji-san, can we go to the park? Please?" Naruto begs as he hears Gaara's soft footsteps pad up behind him."Please Ji-san?" he begs again.

"Yeah, sure!" he laughed, but his words and laugh sounded strained as they left his mouth. Gaara and Naruto didn't notice, Naruto was too busy cheering and Gaara was watching him with a smile. Yashmaru smiled at them as his mind worked fitfully.

_Tonight. The Kazekage ordered it to be tonight. Tonight to kill the two youngest Sand Siblings is my mission._ he thought as he guided the two children to the play ground. Naruto immediately ran up to the swing and called for Gaara to push him. The other children watched scared, before running to the other side of the playground to play ball.

Neither group of children looked at each other, but they were both highly aware of the others. Then one of the kids bounced the ball to high and it got stuck on a balcony.

There was silence for a moment as everyone, even Gaara and Naruto turned. Then a wind blew, stirring up the sand as Gaara raised his right hand. His hand clenched like a claw as he pulled his arm back.

The ball was pulled off the balcony by sand to land in Gaara's arms. He handed it to Naruto who hopped off the swing. He slowly walked towards the other kids who backed up as he came. When he was close enough, he rolled the ball toward them.

"You have a nice ball. May I play with you next time?" Naruto smiled.

"S-stay away! Monster!" one of the kids called from the back of the crowd.

"Humph! He's no more a monster than me!" a girl their age said, turning on the group. "Do you see claws, horns, fangs? I'm new here, but I know that they aren't monsters! You guys are idiots. I'm going."

She turned on her heel and grabbing Naruto marched over to Gaara, "Hi, I'm Akane! What are your names?"

"I'm Naruto, this is my brother Gaara!" Naruto said proudly.

"Where do you live?" Akane asked.

"Kazekage Manor!" Naruto replied as Gaara nodded."Do you want to meet Temari-nee and Kankuro-nii? They're both in the Academy, like we'll be in two years. How old are you? We're both five! My birthday was last week!"

"I'm five too! My birthday was a month ago. Can I meet your siblings? I want to be a ninja too! Do you think you can teach me some things? Wait," she paused. "You live in the Kazekage Mansion? Are your parents servants?"

"Nope! Dad's Kazekage, but mom died when we were born. Sure you can meet Nee-chan and Nii-san. I can help teach you too! You can come during tudar time!"

And so the two continued talking back and forth, best of friends as Gaara smiled as they walked to the Mansion with Yashmaru following them.

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**Thank you for your advice. I'm so glad, this is the most reviews I've ever had. Oh, jeeze, I sound like Bee. Well, see ya!**


	5. Chapter 5

I climb up to the roof to find Naruto already asleep. I smile as I slip under the covers with him and huddle closer, shivering slightly from the cold desert night air.

Naruto mumbles something in his sleep before turning and wrapping his arm around my waist and burying his face into my chest. I smile at him before closing my eyes, peaceful at last.

It's a well known fact that I can't sleep without him, and I can't remember at time that I've woken up or drifted off without him. But I also know that despite what people think, Naruto has nightmares. They generally come around the time we have to wake up, but he can't get out of them himself.

As I drift off to sleep, I hold onto the image of my little brother, my otouto, eyes closed and peaceful under the full moon.

* * *

I awaken to the sound of sand moving at a high speed and the sound of kunai deflecting off of something. I open my eyes to darkness, before the orb of sand parts and I see a masked ninja.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I call, my voice hoarse and frightened. The figure just answers with a rain of more kunai. I stop the sand's automatic action of trying to crush the figure, but let it hold him tightly enough that he can't escape. I turn to check Naruto and find him still asleep and peaceful. I then walk up to the person and take his mask off with my eyes closed.

Then I take a deep breath and open my eyes to see my would be assassin . . . Yashmaru-ji-san.

"Why?" I ask, my voice breaking. "Why Yashmaru-ji-san? Why?"

"A mission," he coughed out, blood coming from one corner of his mouth. "From your father."

"A mission. So that's your excuse," a voice came from behind me. I turn to find Akane, with black lines coming from the corner of her eyes. "You better not give us the stupid, 'Your mom wanted you to love yourself and only your self' stuff, because no mom wants that for their child. You may be resentful, but it is my duty, assigned to me by my village leader to protect Gaara. By the way," she turns.

"You can go back to sleep now Gaara. I'll handle things from here."

"Who are you? Where are you from?" Yashmaru pressed looking desperate.

"I, am Uzumaki Akane, of the Baka-Kurumagakure second to last holder of the rare blood line," pause for dramatic effect," the Kazaguruma, generally shortened to Kaza. So do you want to escape, or wait for your wife's husband to murder you?"

"Um . . . Escape?" Yashmaru sounded uncertain.

"Good choice! Now here, you'll need-" she started before listing a list of items about a foot long as she pulled them out from various places on her person. She pulled out one more thing, a camera. It was one of those cameras that printed the picture automatically.

"And last but not least, here! Make sure to take lots of photos, I want to see the world!" she said before stuffing everything into a sack and handing it to Yashmaru,"See ya!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Konoha, day after Kyuubi attack**

"Hokage-sama, we found a child with red hair," leopard said, cradling a wraped bundle to her chest.

"May I see Leopard?" I ask. Her pleading eyes look up at me from under the mask.

"Hokage-sama, he's hungry. Can I feed him while you get the council at least?" she asked, still rocking the bundle.

"At least his face then," I reply and she steps forward, tilting the child up so I could see him. I smile at his red hair, "He's going to look like Kushina. He even has her red hair."

And with that, I swept back to the administration building, getting ready to call a council meeting.

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**Present**

"And this is my Nii-san, Kaito!" Akane exclaimed as she pulled a boy about two years older up beside her. The boy yawned and waved one hand in a lazy manner.

"Hi, ya know."

"These are our siblings: Kankuro and Temeri!" Naruto replied, waving his hand in circles at the two. Everyone just stared at each other for a minute, taking in the others features.

Kaito had thick blood red hair like Akane, as well as the same green kaleidoscope eyes. They siblings also both had black thumb and ring finger nails. The silence was so thick that -

Naruto took a kunai out and started waving it around before he noticed everyone staring at him. He looked sheepish and put the kunai away.

"Sorry, I was trying to cut the tension," Naruto explained, and everyone else burst out laughing."You see, Gaara here once told me when we were watching two jonin facing off, that the tension was so thick I could cut it with a kunai. It generally seems to work, even though Gaara told me he hadn't meant it literally."

"It does seem to work when I try it, ya know!" Kaito exclaimed."I think it's because no one really expects people to take the expression seriously ya know."

"So Kaito," Temari speaks for the first time. "Why are your nails like that?"

"Family blood line, any in yours? Ya know," Kaito replied.

Temeri shakes her head before grinning at the possibilities before her, "Wana spar?"

"Sure, ya know," he replied easily.

"Come on then!" Temeri led the way, trying not to grinn too much and scare off her prey.

When they were in the sand covered training grounds she turned on her heel and smirked at finding that Kaito was the only one to follow her out on to the training grounds.

"Rules are, taijutsu only, no chakra reinforcement, no opening of the gates and stuff like that. Ref. is . . . Kankuro," she stated, making sure all on the training ground could hear her. Kankuro, looking a little scared came closer and nodded.

"Ready, start!" he called an leapt back to his original place with the younger group. The two seven year olds fought well, and in the end it came to a stand still, as both collapsed panting. "No winner, tie round." Kankuro announced as he ran over to his older sister and the younger team ran over to Kaito.

Suddenly Temari grinned,"You fight well, I hope to be on your team Kaito." The older kids had already noticed how well the younger ones were working together, almost like they knew what to expect and when.

Gaara had placed two balls of sand exactly where they could be used to help one's self up as Akane grabbed her brother's arm. As she pulled him up, there was a fine layer of sand flowing from Naruto's feet as he stood off to the side.

And when Akane pulled one of his feet up up and he was about to lose his balance, something stopped him and he looked down to see sand all over his clothes.

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**Hello everyone! Thanks for supporting and if you have a question, put it in a review and I'll try to answer.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Konoha, past**

The council was gathering slowly in the council room, being found by Anbu every second. When every one had gathered, the third Hokage swept in, followed by an Anbu holding the subject.

"Welcome all in the council of the leaf, we have come to gether to discus matters that affect our future," Sarutobi announced the traditional words to open the meetings."Now to begin, our subject today is the discussion of what to do with the jinchuriki. Any suggestions?"

Three people stepped forward and after a glaring contest, the winner stepped further up, "I would like to raise him as the child of my best friend." Uchia Mikoto said while staring daringly at her husband. Sarutobi nodded at the next person, Tsume, as Mikoto went back.

"I'm say with you Mikoto, but you better not let him alone! If that bastard Fugaku don't let him, then I'll take in the pup. 'E'd make a nice sibling for my Kiba!" she declared. Hiruzen turned to Danzo, the last person to step up.

"Train him to be a weapon as soon as possible and take no chances," Danzo said firmly. Hiruzen was about to announce his opinion when a voice to his left stopped him dead.

"We'll take him," Leapord spoke, her voice soft and warm as she looked down at the baby in her arms. The council looked at he surprised untill a voice came out of the silence.

"Seconded," Mikoto spoke. Then another.

"I support this," Danzo said. Then another.

"Troublesome. I agree," Shikaku yawned. Then more till the entire council had approved it.

"All in favor, raise your hand," Sarutobi said and after a pause, all the hands of the council were raised."The boy will be raised by the Anbu, motion passed. Council dismissed."

Everyone filed out and Sarutobi turned to look at Leopard,"What are you going to call him?"

"Kaeru. Uzumaki Kaeru."

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**Konoha, presant**

I race away from my caretakers, sticking my tongue out at them. Then, for the moment I was out of sight, I turn right and into the maze of alley ways behind the busy streets, giggling. I run a round-a-bout route to my favorite hiding place and duck through the pipe, running till I see the light.

It's my favorite hiding place and I think that it used to be a shelter, but it's long abandoned and my place of last defence from everyone as well as doubling as a storage room, prank planning place, emergency supplies and sometimes, when the last prank is especially bad, bedroom.

I stumbled into it two years ago, when I was running from Dog and Rat after putting itching powder in their suits and superglue in the cuffs so that they couldn't take them off. Some times when I was planing a prank, I just stare up through the heat proof, pressure proof, one way metal and watch people going by above.

It's like this room was built for pranks. I blink and stop spacing out.

Then I grin, I've got the best prank idea ever, and this time no one will blame me, because I'm too young to have done it. In their minds at least. I grin wider as I sit up and run to my planning table to start drafting a plan to paint the Hokage's faces.

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**Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I was tired and had a really bad headacke. So what do you think? And any sujestions on what Kaeru should controll? I was thinking seals or puppetry.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Suna, eight years later**

"Yes! We finally get to have a genin team!" Naruto crowed as he pulled Gaara alongside him as he ran to Akane's house. In the eight years since they had met, Akane, Naruto, and Gaara had become fast friends and at times, the Kazekage's guests (read, ambassadors) had cooed at the trio of 'triplets', telling the Kazekage, Katsu, what luck he had, to have two sets of fine triplets as heirs.

Akane had changed only slightly over the years, her hair waist length tomato hair held back in a low pony tail. He eyes were usually the same kaleidoscope green, unless provoked by some one higher than her normal level, or if they were trying to hurt her friends, then they turned white with three spinning commas that made the kohl around her eyes seen darker. She still wore the loosely woven and baggy shirt in almost the same color of tan, but lighter so that it blended in with the sand around them. But the one thing that had only changed in size about her appearance was her blood-red and extremely baggy mid-thigh length pants.

Just as he was about to knock other door, she opened it and Naruto tripped forward, bumping into her. She smiled at him amused as he hopped back to greet her enthusiastically.

And also during that time, Naruto had found his place as he manipulated water, wind, a crimson flame, and seals galore. He carried the gourd he had given Gaara, with a few changes. He'd engraved what many in the sand now thought of as his trade mark, a teddy bear, in darker sand so it was identical to the water filled gourd on his back, and the pouch that was a sealing scroll in and of itself on his left hip.

He now kept his spiky hair cut long and with one special shampoo, tamed it into a low pony tail like Akane's as his hair had turned a brilliant crimson. His blue eyes sparkled from within the kohl as he directed his materials. His shirt was as lose as Akane's and as yellow as the sun, and he somehow managed to blend in with sand just as well as sandstone itself. He also had a leather sash over it, holding his gourd to his back. His pants though were the typical black Suna pants, loose and down to his ankles.

Gaara though had completely redone his wardrobe and now he wore a black shirt over a black fish net shirt. Over it he wore two sashes, one of white cloth over a leather one that held a sand stone gourd of sand like Naruto's sand stone gourd of water. His black pants were the same though, and his kohl surrounded eyes were generally warm. That is to friends.

The three were together so much, that if they were put on separate genin teams, well, here comes the nine to six genin team with two or three leaders. Up in his office, Katsu plotted, for a moment before calling to his ANBU. He may get hell for putting the three on a team, but at he could use this to test a claim. The Kazekage grinned.

"Bring me him."

"Him?!"

"I didn't stutter Raccoon."

"Who's he for?" Raccoon asked before catching sight of the papers laying on the desk. "That is part suicide and just genius enough to work. I almost feel sorry for them."

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**Alright, yes I know Naruto didn't have red hair, yes I made it that way because I want to then thought a reason.**

**The reason is this: when Gaara is sleeping next to Naruto, which is every night, Kyuubi releasing KI and the tiniest amount of chakra he can manage to keep Shukaku subdued. He is also rehabilitating Shukaku, but that can come later. Any way, long-term, more than originally ment to be released Kyuubi chakra would have some effect, thus the red hair. It could have been something else to but I'm not saying.**

**Also, sugestions for the new character? Please PM me, I'll take what you got.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Suna Academy**

"Alright, every one, settle down," Sensei said softly from the front of the class. One or two people stop talking and turn to the front. I nudge Naruto and he stops talking to Akane."EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN NOW!"

"Alright brats, Team one is Subaku no Gaara, Subaku no Naruto, and Uzumaki Akane." There was silence for a moment untill some one started laughing.

"They put the triplets in the same team? I pity the person who has to be their sensei," some one called.

"Your sensei is Nakahara Daichi," my eyes wide.

"Daichi. As in Daichi of the milk and Bijuu?" I ask. "Good choice."

"Okay, let's go," a voice sounded from the door. I turn to see a sandy blonde haired man at the door with a jug of milk in his hand. He's staring at us uninterested till his eye lights up. He grins, "Oh, I get two of them do I?"

"What do you mean? There's only one!" the teacher said confused as the students stared.

"I don't know what you mean," Daichi tilted the bottle back. "Both of the red heads are Jinchuuriki! I get two!"

He sauntered forward and tapped Gaara on the head, "Hello Shukaku." He drank from the bottle again before tapping Naruto,"How are you Kuruma?"

He paused then, "Well it's not my fault! I can't help it you know!"

_**"YOU IDIOT! THEY COULD HAVE KEPT BELIEVING THAT I WAS IN THE LEAF BRAT FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER!**_** Why are you here anyway? I thought you died."**

"Now, now Kuruma, you should know by now that I'm not that easy to get rid of. 'Sides I'm immortal like you are, or so you keep forgetting. And Shukaku, please stop attempting to drive your host mad. It gives the Bijuu a bad reputation. Well anyway, come along my cute little students, times a wasting!" Daichi said, taking another gulp of milk.

**"Damn it,"** the voice identified as Kuruma muttered as the so-called triplets plodded out of the room like ducklings.**"Well kits, since Shukaku's still too insane, I'm going to be telling you the short version of Bijuu History as well as what us too can do. Now hold that thought while I go back to counseling for Shukaku. And get old man Daichi to tell you how to meditate. Sleeping is no longer necessary, just meditation. And N- . . . Naruto. Thank you."**

My brow scrunched for a moment as Naruto replies, "What ever for?"

**"Let's just say . . . you were my councilor."**

* * *

**Konoha, same time**

I finnish painting over the array of seals on Hyatte's arms and lean back.

"There, that should do it." I turn and smile at Yuago,"The seals should finnish their job by next month. Just let me check them once a week to make sure they're working. I should be in th village for the next month so it shouldn't be hard to find me."

I hop off the bench and pull on my grey hoodie and slip the strap of my sealing scroll around my shoulder before pulling the hood up to hide my vivid hair. As I walk I nod at the people who glare at me as I walk to the academy.

I slip into my seat at the back of the room and rest my head in my arms. I open my eyes to see the almost last Uchia sitting next to me. The image blurs for a moment and I see Sasuke dressed in a black outfit with a lot of straps. I close my eyes as my head slumps back into my arms and focus on moving the chakra that had concentrated around my eyes to equalise through my body and let some of it overflow back into my chakra well.

Iruka-sensei comes in and I sit up straight with a yawn.

"You alright?" Sasuke asked softly just before his fan girl, Sakura took the last seat in our row and stared reading a history book. After a minute Iruka-sensei just took a deep breath and yelled.

"DO YOU BRATS WANT TO BE NINJA OR NOT?" The room went dead silent and there was a blur of motion as everyone sat min the nearest available seat."Finally, I couldn't hear myself think. Now Team one is . . ."

I just kept my head down till he got to my name.

"Team Seven is Uzumaki Kaeru, Haruno Sakura, and Uchia Sasuke."

_Not bad I guess. I could have gotten Ino or some one who wouldn't make it. Oh hell._

My eyes widen as I feel the build up of a level three activation and I reach for Sasuke's sleeve.

"Level three," I manage to say before passing out as my eyes morph into off-center yellow circles and black crescent moons.


	10. Chapter 10

**Konoha**

_Silence. usual beginning of second or third stage. Then an image drifted through the blackness, lighting it up._

Kyuubi attack_, I thought detached. The picture zooms and I watch as the Shinigami pulls a part of the Kyuubi's soul from it and some of the soul is pulled into the baby, while half of it is pulled through a man and he winces in pain as his soul is pulled out with half of the Kyuubi's. Kyuubi's body is dissolving as half of its soul and chakra are pulled into the seal on the baby. I watch as at the last second before he dissolves, his claw that had been stopped by Kushina and Minato flicked out one last time and managed to flick the baby. The picture turns to the Shinigami._

_My brow furrows, he shouldn't be here. I watch as he takes the bodies of Kushina and Minato over to the side. and lays them together, wrapping their arms around each other. One hand reaches through Minato and to Kushina and slowly pulls and as his hand pulls, the two bodies melt together and shrink._

_The Shinigami lets go of what ever it was he was pulling and suddenly the two people, now a red-haired baby, wailed. a seal of the Shinigami appeared on its stomach._

_There's darkness and then a new light appears._

_It's the baby that was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and a child with dull red hair under a blanket of sand with a multitude of sand particles floating above. A hand comes towards them but the moment before it enters the floating dome of sand, the grains whip towards the hands and form a block of sand as some of the grains from the blanket drift up._

_This time there's no pause and I see an unconcious girl and a boy fall out of thin air at night onto a glowing seal in the middle of an island surrounded by water and whirlpools._

_A pause of darkness and a group of children are yelling at a boy with blonde hair. Then suddenly the girl from earlier leaps out and defends the boy, and a flash signals a short fast forward and I watch as the boys lips shape the words, _I'm Naruto, this is my brother Gaara!

* * *

I sigh as Kaeru's head slumps and I raise my hand to adjust his position till it looks more natural and pull his hand under the table and put it on my knee. He told me years ago about his Kekkei Genkai and I'd started practicing puppetry so he would look normal.

His blood line . . . Shorai no tsuki . . . Future Moon . . . can show future events, past events, and sometimes the current representation of a person's mind. He's the only one I don't wear my mask with. I sigh and rest my head on the desk. By now, I'm sure they gave us Kakashi, so we've got at least one and a half hours left.

* * *

_"__I don't _have long any more. _Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuki, Kurama. Even though you have been separated, you shall always be together. Until eventually that time shall come when you will become one… You each carry a name… And with a different shape than you had up to now, you will be shown a righteous path, different from the time you spent inside of me. What is true power… …Until that time…"_

_A tear slipped down the fox's cheek. The man started coughing as he slumped down, clutching the staff. He started coughing again and as the nine animals started forward, his grip on the staff slipped and he fell spread eagle, face down, and the staff fell, resounding against the ground. A scream resounded through the world as tears poured down the animal's faces._

_The Shinigami appeared and the forces of the universe stilled as the death god bowed to honour the fallen sage. Then he gathered the spirit from the fallen sage and put the sage so he was on his back with his hands by his side. Then he turned and disappeared._


	11. Chapter 11

The boy, who looked more like a man, watched wearily as the two bandits dropped down in front of him. Some of it was in his hidden eyes, eyes that seemed to know more about the world than even those elders that seemed wise. Some of it was in the set of his shoulders, as if the world was what rested on his shoulders, not the simple drawstring bag that rested on his back. Some of it was the fact that he looked like he hadn't washed in months, let alone had a decent bath.

"Give us the pack, boy," one of the men said as the boy watched them.

"Robbing me? That's a new one," the boy's head tilted up as his eyes flashed with amusement. "Trust me, I don't have anything you want. I don't even have water, which is precious around here."

"Come brother, let us get it," the man on the left said as he slid into the basic fighting stance.

"Yes, let's," the one on the right said as hen also slid into stance.

The boy just groans and sets his pack on the ground. The two men start running at him as he shuffles through the pack. The bandits were almost on him when his left wrist shot up with a kunai while his right arm kept digging through the bag. No matter what they threw at him, be it blows or shiruken or kunai, or even fire jutsu, the left hand of his defended him. Then suddenly the boy ah!-ed and pulled a scroll out of the bag.

"Later!" he flashed them his overly sharp kanines. Then as he whirlled around for a sec, spreading the scroll on the ground and the younger bandit, ina moment of foolishness darted foreward and his kunai flashed once, burying itself in the vein on the boy's neck. The boy's eyes widened and his body snapped straight before slumping. The bandits ran away, and as the boy fell, a red-orange chakra boiled out of the boy's arms as his eyes widened.

Time slowed down as he fell and he felt the chakra trying to heal the severed vein.

**"I am not dying, you pathetic one."**

_'Stupid fox. Not even you or all the medics in the world could heal this.'_ Kaeru thought as his eyes rolled back in his head. _'I am only human after . . .'_

The boiling chakra eveloped him, even as he gave up on life.

**"_I REFUSE TO DIE_!"**

The chakra set fire to everything it touched, the sand, the rocks, trees, even the the stream meters away. There eyes, the unseeing lifeless eyes, watched as the world burned, and one spark, touched the paper seal below the boy, and the chakra held him up. From withing his mind, before it faded away, Kaeru screamed as his muscles were torn, his bones crushed, and tendons streached by the scroll, that had been rewriten by the spark of the fox's chakra, till there was blessed nothingness.

Kaeru fell released by the chakra, unbreathing through his untouched throat.

Unconcious even within his own mind, he never felt the softly bending grass as he collapsed, instead of the hard packed earth of the common trade road he had been on.


	12. Chapter 12

I jerk awake as Kakashi-sensei walks in.

"My first impression of you is I hate you. Meet me on the roof in five minutes," he said before walking out. I shrug and follow, my mind still on the last image my Kekkei Genkei displayed, a boy who could have been my twin, just older falling covered with orange chakra as the background turned black before dissolving into typical Konoha scenery.

I sit down and jolt when Sasuke nudges me as he sits down. Sakura sits down on my left and I look up at Kakashi-sensei.

"So introduce your self, name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future," Sensei says.

"Why don't you go first sensei, and show us how to so it?" Sakura asks.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi, I like and dislike many things. I have many hobbies. As for dreams for the future . . . " he paused for dramatic effect. "I haven't really thought about it."

"So all we really learned was his name . . ." Sakura muttered.

"Tomato, you're next!" Kakashi-sensei says.

"Yeah alright. I'm Uzumaki Kaeru, I love ramen, I hate stuff, my hobbies are being bipolar and training, my dream is to find all the relatives of mine that are in Suna, and to find the new relative of mine that will show up soon," I say.

"Pinky."

"My name is Haruno Sakura. The thing I like, well you see it's not a thing (Insert speech that I'm not typing up.) I hate Kaeru!" Sakura declared.

"And Uchia," Kakashi-sensei says.

"My name is Uchia Sasuke. (Insert speech) Is to revive my clan, and to kill a certain man," Sasuke said as his emo aura surrounded him. I almost laugh. Sasuke gave up being emo long ago, as soon as we are out of school, he comes to my apartment to change into my partner in crime, a blonde boy with blue eyes and tan skin in an orange jumpsuit, the exact opposite of emo and just as hyper as me.

"Right. We are now team seven. That means that we're going to start doing missions together," Kakashi-sensei said after a period of silence. I just stayed quiet.

"Tomorrow we'll begin our first mission."

"And what it will consist of?" I ask.

"Survival training," Kakashi-sensei responded.

"Training? I thought it was a mission," Sasuke said.

"Yeah, we had plenty of training in the academy," the green-eyed girl said.

"This is no ordinary training."

"Then what kind of training it is?" Sasuke asked.

"It is more like another exam," Kakashi-sensei said seriously. "Out of the 27 genins that graduated, only 9 are going to become genins. The rest will be sent back to the academy. It is a test that I will apply and decide if you are fit to be genins," he says. Sasuke had a serious expression on his face and Sakura looked nervous.

"Wait a minute! What of the graduation exam we did? Didn't it mean anything?" Sakura asked confused.

"It just picks out the ones who are qualified to become genin," Kakashi said flatly. "Anyways, tomorrow I'm gonna decide whether you pass or fail. Meet me tomorrow with your ninja equipment and lunch at training ground 7 at 5:00 A.M." Kakashi said standing up.

"Oh and, if you don't want to throw up, don't eat breakfast," he added as an afterthought."You can go now."


	13. Chapter 13

I wrinkle my nose at the odor of blood in the air. Beside me Ash, the partner that had come along with me whimpered and I called out to the others to stop.

"Wait Kenji! Nori! I smell blood!" I yell as I jump to the ground, Ash behind me. I turn and run towards the scent, hearing my team-mates follow above me.

When I see someone lying on the ground in the direction of the scent, I stop beside them and kneel only to find a teen about my age lying limp. I sniff and identify him as the source of blood, twisted with that of fire, foxes, sweat, dirt, and something else beneath that, something that seemed to have faded, almost like time had eroded it till it was almost gone. I feel Kenji leap down beside me to put his hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Hey kid," Kenji said as Nori leaped down. "You okay?"

I look at him, and his burned arms to find them covered with swirling marks like tattoos. As I shifted one palm, I saw that even the palms of his hands bore the seemingly hurried and scrawled strokes of ink.

"I think this guy was robbed," Nori said as he poked through the drawstring bag that had been next to the teen. A sudden groan from the teen made him drop the pack almost guiltily and I snort.

"Hey, can you tell us your name?" Kenji leaned over the boy intentionally.

"Where're you from?" I interject. I still wanted to know if the boy was a threat.

Dry lips parted and wheezed in a short breath.

"Uzu . . ." muttered the boy without opening his eyes. His teeth came together suddenly in a pained groan, cutting off whatever he was going to say next, and he fell back into unconsciousness.

"Whirlpool . . ." Nori muttered as he picked up the bag again. "Whirlpool was destroyed years ago."

"Looks like something tried to destroy _him_," Kenji said as he pulled the boy closer to him. "C'm on, let's bring him home."

"Mmm, are you sure that's wise?" I ask doubtfully as Kenji picked him up bridal style.

"What's he gonna do?" protested the chuunin. "He doesn't even have the strength to stay awake."

"We don't really know where he's from," I reply. "And there's something wrong about him."

"Couldn't that be from the people who attacked him?" Nori suggested helpfully.

I shake my head vigorously.

"I can't detect any foreign scents in the area. And there hasn't been any rain to wash the scents away," she pointed out. "Plus, his wounds are too recent. His skin is still hot from being burned. Wouldn't we have seen any attackers leaving the scene?"

"If he is a threat, it's better that we take him to Konoha where we can question him if we need to," said Kenji. "If we leave him out here, it might come back to bite us."

My eyebrow twitches then I sigh, he has a point, "Fine," I sigh. "Let's go."


	14. Chapter 14

I watch as Akane summons Risu and they talk for a moment before he hops off and they face Gaara. I smile when she suddenly darts in and throws a roundhouse kick before turning back to my latest project; making a cold fire. It's hard since I'm pretty much abusing my conciousness and the laws of nature, but since this was chakra, it was possible. After all, the five elements are really just what we can perceive, it's in their density. For example, earth chakra is naturally thick and condensed, and water chakra is very malleable. If I can think that fire is cold, then I can do this. I concentrate on the piece of kindling I'd taken from the box next to the oven and imagined a clod fire, one that froze the molecules as they fell apart and reduced the target to a fine white dust.

My hands move into two hand signs (Tiger, Dog) and I blow gently on the stick. I whoop in joy when the places where my breath had touched had crumpled away, leaving the surface of the stick a lot smoother and with a silvery sheen.

"I did it!" I yell, jumping around like an idiot. Gaara went to pick up the stick and I yelped, "Careful!"

"Gahh!" Gaara said as he dropped the stick, clutching his hand. Then he held his hand out and his eyes widened as he saw the pale skin. The frost-bite healed before our eyes.

"The stick is probably still cold," I sigh as Gaara winces, probably from the private talk-down Shukaku was giving him.

"What did you do?" Akane asks, from her crouching position over the stick.

"I made cold fire!" I exclaim. She wrinkles her nose at me and goes back to staring at the stick.

"You finally did it!" Daichi-sensei exclaimed from behind me, making me yelp. "Well we go our first C-rank mission! I'll meet you at the gates tomorrow. Bring enough stuff for a week!"

"Wait Daichi-sensei, what's the mission?" I call as he walks away. He turns and his turquoise eyes meet mine.

"Joint mission with the Leaf, we're protecting an old man as he builds a bridge," Sensei says before turning away, his short sandy blonde hair not moving. He takes another swig from his bottle of milk as he walks back to his home presumably.

The next day we meet at the gate and start off towards Wave. As we wait to cross the water, we meet with the client; and old man named Tazuna, and the team from Leaf, who were an Inozuka, a Hyuuga, and an Aburame, who tell us that Tazuna is being targeted by some big-wig in the shipping industry named Gatou, and that they's already been attacked by the chunin rank missing nins the Demon brothers.

"So let me get this straight, this mission is really an A or b ranked mission, but Tazuna put it down as a c rank because he didn't have enough money to pay for an A or B rank?" Akane asked, successfully suppressing her grin.

"Yeah," growled the Inozuka, Kiba I think.

"Perfect!" I exclaim as Akane starts grinning. I turn and hug my Sensei, "Daichi-sensei, you're the best! This is perfect! And now we get to fight Zabuza too!"

* * *

**Come on! Review! I've posted two or three chapters, and no one has reviewed!**


	15. Chapter 15

So I walk on the water carefully next to the boat with the rest of my team. The kid from Konoha are silent and I watch them shifting cautiously. I takes us almost an hour to get to Wave and the fisherman drops us off, saying it was too dangerous to go any farther. We walk slowly along the path with the Konoha kids in the middle around the old man as we leat through the trees, again, practicing a skill we didn't use much at home. I listen to the sounds of the forest around us, when I spot a splotch of white. There's silence, then I hear the sound of a blade cutting through the air.

"Get down!" I yell at the kids from Konoha as I knock the old man down.

"Gaara, Sand dome around the customer and the Konoha kids. Naruto, Akane, defend the shield, and back me up," Daichi ordered as we flew into protective formation. By the time Zabuza is perched on the sword, we're ready to fight.

I don't wait for the others, I just follow my instincts and dart forward, my eyes blurring as I lash out, before the world goes into a new clarity. I feel Risu running down my leg as it connects and he leaps off as I whirl aside, leaving room for Naruto's attack, before he gets out of the way for Daichi-sensei. I can feel that something isn't right though, and as I watch, there's a flicker in the trees. I run towards it, and find my self in front of a masked boy. I lash out, hitting a nerve that will immobilize him temporarily.

"Boy," I hiss as I crouch down."If I knock Zabuza out, can you carry him?"

I see his eyes widen, before he nods, already gaining mobility. I turn and leap away, hiding behind a tree as I pull out one of the senbon I keep with me. I tilt slightly, analysing the movements, and notice Daichi-sensei isn't fighting his best. I lean, predicting, and throw, my world narrowing down to the one point in the neck that would be safest. Zabuza's eyes widen and he falls. I watch carefully as the boy goes out and after Daichi-sensei checks his pulse badly, gives an excuse about being a Hunter Ninja, before pulling the body away with him.

I turn and make a circuit before running in, panting as the team from Konoha gawk at us. I tilt my head, knowing what was coming.

"MY MILK! YOU BRATS! YOU MADE ME DROP MY MILK!" Daichi-sensei yelled and I chuckle under my breath.

"Here Sensei," I speak up, tossing Daichi a bottle."I've got plenty of milk, that one is an exotic flavor like the color, Orange flavored!"

"I look up to see Naruto walking towards me a little unsteady. I offer him one of the civilian nutrient bars, and he grabs it with a thankful look at me. I just smile back.

* * *

**Sorry people, life kicked me, and when it was finished, I came back to see that Kyuubi had Kin-napped my plot bunny.**


	16. Chapter 16

My eyes slowly open, to white, bringing with them the sudden realization that I'm still alive. That and the pain, I'm pretty sure it doesn't hurt when your dead. I blink and rub my eyes before taking a deep breath and pushing myself up onto my elbows. I look around to see a normal hospital room, and my stomach seems to be swathed in bandages. As I push myself into a sitting position, I can feel the new skin stretching all over, especially on my back. That was nice of whoever, but I'm gonna need to be going soon. Where was I going this time? Maybe Wave, I can say hi to Tazuna. I shake my head, looking around for my drawstring bag, which seems to have disappeared. Damn, I need to find that soon, my seals are starting to itch.

"Damn," I curse out loud, throwing the sheet off to look at my body, dressed in a hospital gown, the sleeves not even reaching my elbows, leaving my seals bare. This is bad, if nothing else, they can identify my by these. I consider ripping the bandages off my stomach to check there, but a sound at the door stops me.

"Oh!" the nurse says, surprized as she sees me sitting up.

"You weren't supposed to be awake for another week yet!" she exclaims, checking the chart at the foot of my bed. I snort internally, having a fox in one's stomach is worth _something_ every once in a while. The nurse, who looks a few years older than me starts checking the machines around me.

"That's a good sign! You seem to be very hardy!" she reassured me as she finished checking all the machines. I smile, hardy doesn''t begin to descride me. Stubourn, foolish, pigheaded, yes, but not hardy.

"Um, do you think you could tell me where -" I begin, only to be interupted as a young man bangs to door open, and I stare in shocked at his hiate. In the center of the metal is a swirl with a triangle on the bottom left.

"Hey," he greeted. "We were worried you're weren't gonna wake up for the next week. You looked pretty bad when we found you."

My wide eyes remained fixed on the man's hi-ate. Konoha. I'm back in Konoha, after all this time trying to escape from the hell it had become. But why was the man wearing a Leaf headband? Danzo had eradicated those after he had taken over; his personal ROOT were the new protectors of Konoha, and ROOT never wore identification. That was the only reason we were able to keep our hi-ate.

"What do you want with me?" I croak out, wishing my throat wasn't so dry.

"I just wanted to check on you." The shinobi of the Leaf frowned slightly at Kaeru's hostility.

"Kenji-san, Masako-san said that the Hokage wished to be informed of his condition when he woke," the nurse said.

I stiffen. _Hokage?_ There wasn't a Hokage anymore. Not since Danzo had killed Tsunade in the coup that destroyed half of Konoha. What the hell were these people trying to pull?

A sudden spasm of pain racked through my midsection, beginning near my spine and traveling to my navel, searing into my skin with a familiar burn that I had come to associate with a grin of sharp teeth and red chakra. I clutch at my stomach with one hand, digging my fingers into the fabric that concealed my bandages, and grit my teeth to hold back the cry of pain that forced itself up my throat and battered against the back of my teeth. A wave of nausea followed the stifled cry, and I lean over the side of the bed.

The nurse caught my movements just quick enough to hold up a shallow bowl so that I wouldn't muck the floor with the meager contents of my stomach. When I was finished, I grip the edge of the bed and raise my eyes in one sweeping glance, trying to observe as much as I could without being obvious. I see the shinobi and the nurse, my eyes sweeping past them, to land on the window at the foot of my bed. Beyond the buildings and rooftops of Konoha, I could just see the beginnings of Hokage Mountain, and the solemn stone gazes of Sandaime and Yondaime.


	17. Chapter 17

Hokage Mountain had faces on it. Four faces. Half that mountain had been destroyed the last time I had seen it, and I doubted that Danzo would be in any hurry to remake the faces of a position he put no trust in. How could this be happening? _What _was happening? I review quickly. I was being attacked by those two robbers. The fight itself had been short; I hadn't even need to use a scroll—

"We found a small backpack beside you," Kenji was talking again, not that I paid much attention. "There wasn't any money in it. Were you robbed?"

My eyes widen in realization. I had gotten out my time-freeze scroll. It had been one of the fuuin jutsus I was working on perfecting: a seal that would cause whoever was caught inside it to freeze in time. The results were similar to Shikamaru's Kagemange no Jutsu, but my victims were _truly _frozen, unable to move or think beyond the moment the seal was activated. I hadn't activated the scroll, but I still remember the voice that refused to die without drastic actions. And now my seals were paining me like they usually did after a release. The combination of the demon's chakra with the time-freeze seal . . .

"Damn." My head sank back against the pillow tiredly. Was what I'm considering even _possible_? Could the seal have _transported _me backwards in time, before everything went to hell?

"I'm sure we can get you back on your feet in no time," Kenji gave me a reassuring smile, taking a completely different reasoning for my swearing.

"I'll tell Masako-san you're awake," announced the nurse. She took the soiled bowl carefully in both hands and hurried out of the room, leaving me alone with the ghost of Konoha in the form of a ninja named Kenji.

"Well," Kenji shrugged and smiled once again, "have a speedy recovery . . ."

"Thanks," I mutter shortly, fully aware that Kenji was expecting me to give a name. I close my eyes and forced myself to relax, hoping my feigned exhaustion would discourage the man.

I sigh when I hear the door to my room open then close and silence permeated the room. I lay in the hospital bed, my throat still sore from my bile and my stomach still burning with the remnants of the poisoned chakra, and stared at the ceiling above me in wonder. If I'm right—if I had really transported himself to a different time—then my time-space seals were even better than the Yondaime's had ever been.

Which would have been a lot more impressive if the entire thing hadn't been a damn fluke.

I stifle a groan as I hear the door the room open once more, softly this time. I feel someone slip into the plastic chair beside me and lean closer.

"I know your awake Naruto," the person breathed into my ear. My eyes shoot open involuntarily and I stare at the person behind me as they lean back satisfied. The person looks like me as I am now, at eleven.

"Who are you?" I breath, staring. The person leans back and smiles at me.

"I'm Kaeru. Uzumaki Kaeru, formerly Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina," the boy says, amusement showing in his sparkling blue eyes as he pulled out a brush and ink set, getting water from the sink to pour into the ink well. I watch as he carefully makes the ink, before reaching out with one hand to grab my hand, which he holds over the ink well. Then he grabs my other hand and pushes a kunai into it. I stare at him for a moment, as his lips twist, fighting a smile, before slashing my hand and letting the blood drip untill the wound closed. Kaeru then picked up a brush and swirled it, mixing the blood and ink before lifting the ink-laden brush up to my left hand, the one closest to him before pausing.

"Take that gown off, you can get into regular clothes as loon as the ink is dry," Kaeru commanded. I quickly slip out of the flimsy gown and stretch my arm out to him, and watch as he brings the brush to my skin again, and starts to trace the seals again. It takes the better part of an hour, in which many things are revealed to me, that I'm in an alternate timeline, my counter part is Gaara's younger brother, Gaara isn't crazy, two other people had survived the Uzumaki Disappearance, Naruto is on the Wave mission now because it's a joint mission with Sand, and later on, what the back story Kaeru was planing on having me tell.

"You, are going to be Kushina's cousin, who was out on a mission when everyone else disappeared, and you'd avoided Konoha for a while because your family hadn't been on good terms with Kushina's when she left and when they all disappeared, so you stayed away untill you couldn't help your self and you just wanted to see a half familiar face. You took odd jobs, and are a Genin, never were anything else. Is that good?" Kaeru asks as he does my right shoulder-blade.

I nod slightly, and feel him smile.


End file.
